One in four fail to cover mouth when sneezing

About one in four people do not cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, a new study has found.

Scientists at Otago University Wellington in New Zealand observed people in three public areas in the country's capital city.

Despite a recent public health campaign encouraging people to cover their mouth to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, researchers found that 26.7 per cent of coughs and sneezes went uncovered, while just 4.7 per cent were covered by a tissue, handkerchief or elbow.

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Study author Nick Wilson, whose findings were presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, commented: 'This study showed a low prevalence of recommended respiratory hygiene behaviours, suggesting that hygiene messages promoted in mass media campaigns have not been seen and/or have not been readily adopted by the public.'

Meanwhile, a study in the journal Thorax has revealed that the majority of hospital admissions and inpatient deaths from swine flu during the first wave of the pandemic in the UK in 2009 affected people with no previous underlying health problems or risk factors for the illness.

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